Barre, VT – July 7-13, 2024

DÉJÀ VU

The one-year anniversary date of the 2023 flood was July 10.  There was a lot of angst in the community as the anniversary date approached.  It didn’t help that some weather forecasts called for 7 ½ inches of rain.  Flood watches and tornado watches were in effect.  Not far from Barre, a tornado warning was issued in Plainfield, where the RV unit is located.  Sandbagging efforts were underway in Barre.  Drains were unplugged but those efforts didn’t always bring the desired results.  Water and mud still entered some of the business.  The following morning, streets in downtown Barre were covered in mud.    Front end loaders and other machinery were at work scraping the debris and truckload after truckload went to dump the mud so that it could be tested for sewage and other contaminants.

One of the ways that volunteers were directly and immediately involved in the community following the 2024 event was to assist enough MINISTRIES preparing and serving food for breakfasts and lunches for several days.  Because their kitchen didn’t have enough oven space, turkeys were brought here to be roasted and then shredded and delivered back to enough MINISTRIES.  This organization is providing meals and a place to stay for many displaced persons during the current crisis.

Other jobs were done as well.  One day volunteers dug a 60-foot French drain and then unloaded rock into the drain. They had nearly completed that job before more rain fell.

One day a large group of volunteers cleaned out a basement of muddy debris.  (This was a result of the 2023 event.)  The load of debris weighed 2,480 pounds (1.24 tons!).  They were dirty and tired after that job.

Steve’s house (the house that Jack built) was completed mid-week.  There was great appreciation for the transformation in that basement.

An HVAC worker from New York helped at Numa’s house with the boiler installation.  Two SYP volunteers installed flooring at this house.  Numa sat on the edge of the bathtub, overcome with the finished product of flooring in his bathroom.

Another project involved the replacement of a dirty, rusty duct system.  Day by day a bit more progress was made until the job was completed.  They also repaired stairs leading into the basement at that location.

On Friday, several long-term volunteers went to Plainfield to assess damage for jobs that would involve mucking out basements and gutting them.  Roads were compromised and bridges washed out.  Creative ways were developed to reach some of the jobs.

Ironically, while a SYP group and their sponsors were here this week, the community of Lowville, NY also experienced flooding from the same storm, personally impacting some of the volunteers.

Work on projects from two flood events a year apart with continue to be the focus of work in the following weeks.

From Barre, VT—Herb, Tim, Edith, Anita, Sovilla, Eric, and Rex